Catwoman: Chimaera
by cascade-of-black-ink
Summary: Selina Kyle is a brilliant geneticist and a high-flying CEO of her very own company. She never imagined to add another feather to her cap as a superhero, but that's what you get when you mess around with human and animal genes. First Catwoman fic for me.


Author's note: Hihi! My first ever attempt at DC Comics characters. This is kind of a total AU version of Catwoman as I take nothing from the comics at all except for her name and Batman's, and maybe a few villains if I have to. Please review!!

**Chapter 1: Questions**

To say that Selina Kyle didn't have a heart would be too cruel. But to say that she had a clear sense of morality would be the understatement of the century. Georgia Parry looked up from her laptop and scrutinized her boss through the glass walls of her meticulously neat office, where she was speaking to her board directors Johnston Krugner and Oliver Wellcomb from her desk.

Finding no inspiration from that scene, Georgia ran her eyes around the huge, empty foyer that took up the entire top floor of Genetech Corp. headquarters in Gotham City. She'd overheard some managers saying that it was a typical mark of staunch feminism to take up the whole floor just for an office, even if she was the CEO of the company. All that space wasted. Could have accommodated the whole board of directors and save a floor for a restaurant, perhaps. Or a play and lounge area for the employees to relax, which is the very in thing for any self-respecting multimillion company like Genetech. But Selina wouldn't do it of course. She was thrifty with money. And employee benefits? Health insurance, the mandatory 30-day holiday, bank and car loans from the Finance Department and that's about it. Nobody deserved anything more than she did.

But she did earn it, Georgia admitted to herself. She'd read up a bit on Selina when she was preparing for the job interview 3 years ago. Mr. and Mrs. Kyle had divorced when she was 8-years-old, and ever since then she had been juggled between two homes until Mrs. Kyle remarried and Selina finally stayed put with her mother. Mr. Kyle was a famed cardiac surgeon and had even lectured in Johns Hopkins until his fall from grace. When Selina was 14, Mr. Kyle was brought to court for sexually abusing three of his heart patients. Then out came reports about his drug abuse and alcoholism. Henry Kyle had not only ruined his own life but also his daughter's. Selina was turned out from the private school she had been studying at and was denied entrance into most Ivy League universities when he was dragged to court. To end his misery, he had killed himself by jumping off the top of the courthouse. His head smashed against the concrete sidewalk right before Selina's eyes.

Georgia's fingers tap-danced against the keyboard. How does one summarize Selina Kyle in a 'few words'? Because Selina hated all contact with the press and only spoke to them through press conferences, Forbes magazine had been denied an interview with her and Georgia had been forced to write up a brief profile of her and conduct the interview on her behalf.

The glass doors swung open outwards. Johnston Krugner and Oliver Wellcomb exited the CEO's office with muted whispers and frowns among themselves. They smiled briefly at Georgia before moving on to the foyer to catch the elevator back to their respective offices. Georgia immediately snatched up her legal pad and scuttled into Selina's office.

"Please, not Fortune again," said Selina promptly.

"Oh no, it's Forbes this time," replied Georgia. "They have a few questions to ask you."

"Time, I'm waiting for Time! I'm not answering them, Georgia."

"Oh come on, Ms. Kyle. I gotta get this to them by tomorrow."

Selina sighed and abruptly turned on the wall-mounted flat screen television. The voice of a CNN newscaster filled the vast office. "Fire away then."

Georgia cleared her throat. "Ms. Kyle, what is your secret to success?"

"Hardwork, hardwork, hardwork," she replied, her eyes glued to the news report on yet another tropical hurricane that had hit the Midwest.

Georgia rolled her eyes. "You won the National Innovative Young Scientist Award when you were 11 by cross-breeding a russet potato and a bison potato, giving America our own unique potato – what inspired your genius at such an early age?"

"Genetics."

"Who is your role model?"

"Nietzsche. Wait, scratch that. Make it Marx."

"Why dip your fingers in genetics?"

"Because it's fun to mess people up. Or in our case plants. Okay, no more questions for today."

"Ms. Kyle," said Georgia, feeling exasperated. "Can we please have a little more effort here? This is for Forbes."

"The people who read Forbes are the people who'll marry me just to have a stake in Genetech. And they never take my viewpoint seriously. To everyone in the high circle I'm just the person who comes up with genetically modified corn. Now if Time wants to interview me on the other hand…"

"Nevertheless, this will affect the company's image besides your own. And suggesting that there should be two mayors for Gotham City doesn't make you any more politically serious than the Joker."

"Seriously though, the two mayors thing _can_ work out beautifully as long as one of them doesn't get too power-crazy like Caesar…"

"Or as stupid as Pompey. But that's not the question here. Focus, Ms. Kyle, on the interview at hand."

"Ask those wimps at Forbes to interview me personally if they dare. Why are you doing their job for them anyway?"

Georgia gave her a blank look. "Because you hate personal interviews, remember?"

Selina blinked. "Right. But if Time calls, I want to answer them personally, got that?"

"Got it. You are at the forefront of the biotechnology scene in the country, what do you foresee for the sector in 10 years time?"

"Oh, lots of stuff. Talking plants, chimaeras, private jets for everyone – " She stopped when she saw Georgia lower her legal pad and frown at her. "I'm serious!"

"Ah-ha. This one's a killer. Is there anything going on between you and another successful entrepreneur like yourself, Bruce Wayne?"

Selina broke into a smile. "Georgia Parry, I will not entertain any personal questions. But for the record, we're very good friends."

"Okaay," Georgia couldn't resist a grin. "Last question: what do you have to say about the rumours of top-secret experimenting on humans in Genetech?"

Selina's smile disappeared. Georgia looked at her expectantly, but her eyes met the cold, icy blue ones that she had only seen when an unfortunate hotshot journalist asked her about her father during a press conference held when Genetech had made it to the Gotham City Stock Exchange.

"No comment."

Georgia could feel the tension in Selina's countenance and immediately took the cue to stop the interview, even though she had a few questions left. Selina stood and buttoned another button on the sharply-cut blazer that she wore. Georgia got to her feet as well. "Just to remind you that you have a video conference with Tanaka Seiyuchi from Osaka at 12.35pm, a meeting with Human Resource at 2pm, and the St. Selina's School is having their alumni dinner tonight. I can come over and help you get ready at six."

"What do you think if I go blonde?"

"What?" Georgia stopped abruptly in her tracks as she stared at Selina, who was gathering her sleek black hair into a neat ponytail. "You look great, as a brunette. And if you go blonde, you will be taken even less seriously."

"That's sad. We are judged by the colour of our hair and not by the content of our character. Skin colour is bad enough but hair pigment can cause us unnecessary grief too. I gotta change that."

"Is it okay or not if I go over to your house and help you get ready for the dinner?" asked Georgia, pointedly ignoring the remark. Answering one of Selina's rhetorical, satirical observations was akin to starting up a mini world war with her. And as Georgia was planning on leaving Genetech soon, she had better be in her good books until she had found another job. Not that she hated Selina, but you can't stay in one position for too long, can you?

"Route the Osaka call to the lab and cancel the meeting with Human Resource. Schedule it for tomorrow, somewhere in the morning after my morning tea so that I won't feel guilty for yelling at them and I can blame it on the bacon rasher sandwiches."

Georgia tapped her Blackberry furiously. "Anything else? Oh and do you still need me to come over?"

"It's not like senior prom or anything," said Selina, rolling her eyes back at her as she strode towards the elevators. "But yes, do come over."

"See you at 6, Ms. Kyle."

Selina merely waved back without even looking back.

* * *


End file.
